Five injured in shootout at Malaysian airport

Malaysian police were Thursday hunting for the culprits behind a dramatic shootout at the capital's main airport which left five injured as robbers escaped with more than a million dollars in cash.

The victims, including two money changers and their armed security guard, were ambushed by four to six robbers as they left their vehicle and walked towards the airport's departure hall on Wednesday evening.

Zahedi Ayob, police chief of Sepang district in Selangor state where the Kuala Lumpur International Airport is located, said a Nepalese man and an off-duty policeman were also caught in the crossfire.

"We have started investigations from last night and have not receded in any of our actions to follow up on the lead that we have," Zahedi said, declining to elaborate on the information they were pursuing.

"We believe they are local Malaysians," he said of the culprits, adding that the incident was "categorised as an organised crime".

During the five-minute shootout, the armed robbers wounded both the money changers and their security guard in the legs before grabbing a bag of cash, he said.

The Malaysian money changers were carrying $1.05 million in the bag which was meant to be deposited at an outlet on the fifth floor of the airport.

Some 40 bullets were littered along the driveway of the departure hall, which was also strewn with shards of broken glass from large panels that were shattered by gunshots.

Zahedi said the injured were admitted to the Serdang Hospital near the airport.